THE DRIVING OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE

THE END OF THE RACE

BY BERNICE GIBBS ANDERSON*

HE DRIVING of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit on T May 10, 1869 was the consummation of thirty years of planning and six of actual construction. Two rival companies, starting at opposite ends of the line, pitted blood against blood, thrusting the road forward two, five, seven, and finally ten miles in a day. Over eleven hundred miles of double track were laid by hand in thirteen months on the Pacific Railroad at a time when the entire United States contained but one hundred and forty miles of experimental line built over a period of two years. Ground was broken at Sacramento in January, 1863, by the Central Pacific, now Southern Pacific Company, almost a year before the Union Pacific broke ground at Omaha. In the next six years nearly eighteen hundred miles of road were built at a cost of about $181,000,000.00. The Civil War, just ended, had demoralized and almost bankrupt the nation; money was scarce and labor more scarce. Congress was more or less hostile to the plan, and opposition was rising from the stage lines, telegraph lines, and steamship companies whose enormous business would vanish. And topping all other obstacles, the blazing desert, teeming with the hostile Sioux, and the mighty frozen mountain slopes flung a heart-break­ ing challenge to the "Big Four"—Stanford, Huntington, Crocker and Hopkins of the Central1 and the Ames brothers, Durant, Dillon, General Dodge and the Casements of the Union Pacific.

*Mrs. Anderson has worked untiringly for many years to make the site of the driving of the Golden Spike a National Monument. She also has written numerous articles on the building of the railroad and the early history of Corinne. Jlt is one of the ironical twists of fate that the brilliant, dedicated, railroad engineer, Theodore DeHone Judah—the man who dreamed, engineered, sur­ veyed and figured out the means of financing the transcontinental railroad— did not live to see his dream materialize, and neither he nor his heirs realized a profit on the millions of dollars that were later made by the "Big Four." 150 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

It was nineteen thousand miles by ship around Cape Horn to San Francisco from the east coast, and the dangerous journey overland took from three to five months. California was threaten­ ing to secede from the Union because of the lack of transporta­ tion and communication, and without the transcontinental railroad the nation would probably have been divided. The Credit Mobilier, pushed through Congress by the faith of the builders, financed the road, along with the personal fortunes of many of these men. Bond-aided by the government, the companies were later given huge land grants—every alternate section of land for a strip ten miles wide on either side of the track, and later increased to twenty miles. The Union Pacific had visions of reaching California. The Central Pacific, aiming for the Salt Lake Valley, sent their survey crews to the head of Echo Canyon and moved in with grading crews from the Mormon settlements. Whereupon the Union Pacific surveyed to Humbolt Wells and laid a parallel grade for 225 miles. Some of our state and national highways through this region now are built upon parts of this grade. Eighty-three years ago the nation's interest was sharply focused on this now almost forgotten site. Here the climax of a great dream was reached, for it was here they drove the Golden Spike. The original date of the driving of the Golden Spike was scheduled for May 8, 1869. On May 1, a mere fifty-eight feet separated the two ends o' track. To the west the iron trail stretched 690 miles to Sacramento, to the east it ran 1,086 miles to the Missouri River. The final act of the great drama was to be enacted, the unit­ ing of the two lines. The end had come so swiftly that the two forces were dazed. The U. P. was discharging men rapidly in order to lessen the payroll. They moved their construction camp from waterless Promontory to the border of the lake below, south from Blue Creek Station where there were springs. Promontory Camp and Blue Creek brimmed with idle graders and track­ layers. The gambling tables, bars, guns, and fists were busy while the workers waited for the last scene in the great railroad drama. THE GOLDEN SPIKE 151

The Central also sought water, but maintained a large camp some distance from their end o' track and well removed from turbulent Promontory. The flame of interest in the race between the two companies was burning brightly, fanned by the newspapers of the country, while a nation stood on tip-toe to watch the finish. The Stanford Special from California arrived at Promontory on the afternoon of Friday, May 7. No preparations for the event were in sight. The Ogden office of the Union Pacific stated that it was impossible for the U. P. delegation to arrive before Monday. Heavy rains had washed out the tracks east of Ogden. President Stanford telegraphed the unwelcome news back to Sacramento and San Francisco informing them of the change in program. He was answered that it was too late to alter the plans for the festivities—there would be celebration anyway. And so there was—for three days! Rain was falling at Promontory Summit. Stranded and dampened, the Central's official party were finally taken to Ogden as guests of the Union Pacific, returning Saturday night to the Stanford car, which withdrew to Monument Point on the west side of Promontory. San Francisco and Sacramento were trying to curb the spirits of their hundreds of visitors. On Promontory the rain poured down, drenching the plateau, the huddled, muddy town, and the construction camps. The outlook was dismal. The Union Pacific's section men worked hard to repair the washed out tracks and closely watched the Devil's Gate bridge. On Sunday night the clouds broke. The construction force of the Union Pacific heard a rumor that the Central was planning to sally forth in the morning and extend its spur, temporarily laid, into a complete siding, thus establishing a claim to Promon­ tory as a Central terminal. General Casement hustled his gangs and with Engineer Dodge worked all night. At daybreak they had finished their own sidings, and Promontory was a Union Pacific terminal. The ten miles of track the Central had built in a day was not such a bitter pill for the Irish now. May 10 broke cold and clear. Promontory Town, a single street lined with canvas and board shacks, was arrayed in her 152 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY festal clothes. For one brief day she took the center of the national stage and acted as hostess to giants of finance and industry. It was her hour, and no other spot could ever right­ fully claim the enactment of the last scene in the great trans­ continental railroad drama—"The Driving of the Golden Spike."

THE PROCEEDINGS AT PROMONTORY SUMMIT [From the Deseret News, May 19, 1869.] Promontory Summit, via. Ogden, May 10. — The last tie has been laid; the last rail placed in position, and the last spike driven, which binds the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with an iron band. The electric flash has borne the tidings to the world and it now devolves upon us, the favored eye-witnesses of the momentous feat, to enter our record of the facts. The meridian hour has come and on the expansive and lofty plateau, at the summit of the Promontory, a scene is disclosed in the con­ ception of which every exultant element of humanity is revivified. Never before has this continent disclosed anything bearing com­ parison with it. The massive oaken-hued trains of the Central lie upon their iron path, confronted by the elegant coaches of the Union Pacific. A thousand throbbing hearts impulsively beat to the motion of the trains as the front locomotives of each Com­ pany led on majestically up to the very verge of the narrow break between the lines, where, in a few moments, was to be consummated the nuptial rites uniting the gorgeous east and the imperial west of America, with the indissoluble seal of inter- oceanic commerce .... The programme of ceremonies, which was read by Edgar Mills, Esq., was as follows: —1st. The dedicatory prayer, by the Rev. Dr. J. Todd, of Pittsfield, Mass., of which the following is a report: "Our Father and God, and our father's God, God of cre­ ation and God of Providence, Thou hast created the heavens and the earth, the valleys and the hills; Thou art also the God of all mercies and blessings. We rejoice that Thou hast created the human mind with its powers of invention, its capacity of expansion, and its guerdon of success. We have assembled here, this day, upon the height of the continent, from varied sections THE GOLDEN SPIKE 153 of our country, to do homage to Thy wonderful name, in that Thou hast brought this mighty enterprise, combining the com­ merce of the east with the gold of the west to so glorious a com­ pletion. And now we ask Thee that this great work, so auspic­ iously begun and so magnificently completed, may remain a monument of our faith and of our good works. We here conse­ crate this great highway for the good of Thy people. O God, we implore Thy blessing upon it, and upon those who may direct its operations. O Father, God of our fathers, we desire to acknowledge Thy handiwork in this great work, and ask Thy blessing upon us here assembled, upon the rulers of our govern­ ment and upon Thy people everywhere; that peace may flow unto them as a gentle stream, and that this mighty enterprise may be unto us as the Atlantic of Thy strength and the Pacific of Thy love, through Jesus, the Redeemer. Amen." 2d. The presentation of spikes. Dr. Harkness, of the Sacra­ mento press, presented to Governor Stanford a spike of pure gold and said: "Gentlemen of the Pacific Railroad, the last rail, needed to complete the greatest railroad enterprise of the world, is about to be laid; the last spike, needed to unite the Atlantic and Pacific by a new line of trade and commerce, is about to be driven to its place. To perform these acts the East and the West have come together. Never since history commenced her record of human events has man been called upon to meet the completion of a work so magnificent in contemplation, and so marvelous in execution. California, within whose borders and by whose citi­ zens, the Pacific Railroad was inaugurated, desires to express her appreciation of the vast importance to her and her sister States, of the great enterprise which, by your joint action, is about to be consummated; from her mines of gold she has forged a spike, from her laurel woods she has hewn a tie, and by the hands of her citizens she offers them to become a part of the great highway which is about to unite her in closer fellowship with her sisters of the Atlantic. From her bosom was taken the first soil, let hers be the last tie and the last spike, and with them accept the hopes and wishes of her people that the success of your enterprise may not stop short of its brightest promise." The Hon. F. A. Fryth, of Nevada, offered a silver spike to Dr. Durant, with the following sentiment:—"To the iron of 154 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY the east and the gold of the west Nevada adds her link of silver to span the continent and wed the oceans." Governor Safford of Arizona, in offering a spike composed of iron, silver and gold, said: "Ribbed with iron, clad in silver, and crowned with gold, Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded the Continent and directed the path­ way to commerce." 3rd. The response by Governor Stanford in behalf of die C. P. R. R.: "Gentlemen, the Pacific Railroad Companies accept with pride and satisfaction these golden and silver tokens of your appreciation of the importance of our enterprise to the material interests of the whole country, east and west, north and south. These gifts shall receive a fitting place in the superstruc­ ture of our road and, before laying the tie and driving the spikes in completion of the Pacific Railway, allow me to express the hope that the great importance which you are pleased to attach to our undertaking may be in all respects fully realized. This line of rails, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, and affording to commerce a new transit, will prove, we trust, the speedy fore­ runner of increased facilities. The Pacific Railroad will, as soon as commerce shall begin fully to realize its advantages, demon­ strate the necessity of rich improvements on railroading, so as to render practicable the transportation of freights at much less rates than are possible under any system which has been thus far, anywhere, adopted. The day is not far distant when three tracks will be found necessary to accommodate the commerce and travel which will seek a transit across this continent. Freight will then move only one way on each track, and at rates of speed that will answer the demands of cheapness and time. Cars and engines will be light or heavy, according to the speed re­ quired, and the weight to be transported. In conclusion I will add that we hope to do, ultimately, what is now impossible on long lines,—transport coarse, heavy and cheap products for all distances at living rates to the trade. Now gentlemen, with your assistance we will proceed to lay die last tie and last rail, and drive the last spike." 4th. The response of General Dodge, in behalf of the U. P. R. R.:—"Gentlemen, the great Benton proposed that, some day, a giant statue of Columbus should be erected on the highest THE GOLDEN SPIKE 155 peak of the Rocky Mountains, pointing westward, denoting this as the great route across the continent. You have made that prophesy, to-day, a fact. This is the way to India." 5th. The presentation, to Governor Stanford, of a silver spike maul, by Mr. Coe, of the Pacific Union Express Company. 6th. The laying of the last tie, upon which meet the C. P. and U. P. rails. The superintendent of construction of the U. P. handling the south end, and J. H. Strobridge, Esq., the north end, laid the tie in position. This tie, of California laurel, an elegant wood scarcely inferior to mahogany, was French polished, and on its face a silver plate, bearing the inscription "The last tie laid on the completion of the Pacific Railroad, May 10th, 1869; presented by West Evans, manufactured by Strahle & Hughes, San Francisco." On this plate were also engraved the names of the directors and officers of the C. P. R. R. 7th. Driving the last spike: Superin-Hibbard, having the wires of the Western Union Telegraph so attached to the mauls in position as to announce the blows as they fell, Governor Stan­ ford, with the silver maul, standing upon the south side of the track, and Dr. Durant on the north, at a given signal, drove the spikes. Instantaneously the electric current flashed the tidings east and west, that the work was done, and the same electric flash sent the reverberating discharge of 220 guns from the batteries of San Francisco. The excitement at this moment of victory was intense, cheers were given for the officers of the Central, followed by cheers for the officers of the Union Pacific; cheers for the "Star Spangled Banner," for the President of the United States, for the engi­ neers and contractors, and for the laborers that have done the work. Upon a momentary subsiding of the cheering Mr. Mills read the dispatches to President Grant and the associated press, announcing the completion of the Pacific Railroad. The reading had but concluded, when the following responsive telegram was received from prominent Californians in New York: "The Presidents of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads at the Junction:—To you and your associates we send our hearty greetings upon the great feat this day achieved, in the junction of your two roads, and we bid you God speed in your best endeavors for the entire success of the Trans-Atlantic 156 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY highway between the Atlantic and the Pacific, for the New World and the Old." Upon the gold spike was engraved, "The Pacific Railway, first ground broke Jan. 8, 1863, and completed May 10th, 1869. May God continue the unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world. Presented by David Herves, San Francisco." On the head of the spike was inscribed "the last spike." This spike was made of twenty-three twenty dollar gold pieces, and is worth $460. A half hour longer sufficed for the photographers to take views of the scenes from every available stand point. They will be much sought after. Each company had four locomotives on the ground, "Jupiter," the C. P. engine, in front, George E. Bond, Esq., conductor; this locomotive was elegantly decked with flags and streamers. B. S. Mallory, Esq., conductor of the U. P. excur­ sionists, brought up the most elegant train and largest number of passengers yet taken over the road. Four companies of the 21st U. S. infantry, Col. Cogswell, were also there. The music of their brass band was truly enchanting, as it echoed upon the mountain breezes of that beautiful day. The thermometer stood at 69 degrees in the shade of the S. P. telegraph car. The point of junction is exactly 1,085 4-5 miles from Omaha, and 690 east of Sacramento. The succeeding moments, prior to six p.m., were vigorously applied to refreshment, hilarity and social pastimes. Dr. Durant's palace car was the scene of mirth and good humor, in which the two Casements vied with each other in fun making. Champagne was quaffed, which even the telling future may never reveal. The General's first fall-back speech, on this great day, will undoubtedly place him among the Ciceros of modern date:—"the government subsidy was really done brown." The separation of the U. P. and C. P. trains, as they receded on the declining grade to the East and West, was as expeditious as the occasion was auspicious. Hail to the day thus commemorated and immortalized by the completion of the Pacific Railroad. THE GOLDEN SPIKE 157

LIST OF PERSONS PRESENT, PROMONTORY, UTAH MAY 10, 1869 By Hugh F. O'Neil*

Of the large number of persons who were present at the driving of the last spike for the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory on May 10, 1869, the names of only a compara­ tive few are known. These consist of railroad officials and their guests, excursionists, employees, and spectators. The crowd has been variously estimated at six or eight hundred, eleven hun­ dred or fifteen hundred, and one account gives three thousand. The first of the estimates is probably more nearly accurate. The following tabulation is made from original sources, histories, news reports, and relations by individuals who were in the group. ' Curiously, some of the sources include names of persons who it is definitely known were not present. The principal sources of the list are: Whitney's History of Utah; General G. M. Dodge's How We Built the Union Pacific Railway; report of a Chicago Tribune representative who was present; C. R. Savage's diary; and a relation by L. O. Leonard, a Union Pacific historian. The "Key to Portraits" in Thomas Hill's painting, "The Last Spike" is not reliable, as it was evidently a symbolic representation, and personages were in­ cluded by the artist who were not present at the driving, and one of whom (Judah) had died several years previously. Other sources are the Salt Lake City Deseret News of May dates in 1869; the San Francisco Alta California of May 11, 1869; the Sacramento Union of May dates in 1869; and the San Francisco Chronicle of May 11 and 12, 1869.

CENTRAL PACIFIC REPRESENTATIVES Leland Stanford, president. Ex-governor of California. Charles Marsh, director. John Corning, assistant general superintendent. John H. Strobridge, superintendent of construction.

*Mr. O'Neil is an employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad In Ogden, Utah. During the depression he was supervisor of the Utah WPA Historical Records Survey. 158 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

S. S. Montague, chief engineer. G. E. Gray, consulting engineer. E. B. Ryan, Governor Stanford's private secretary. H. H. Minkler, track foreman. Alfred A. Hart, photographer. F. L. Vandenburgh, superintendent of telegraph. George Booth, engineer of engine 60, the "Jupiter." (Amos Bowsher, who was at Promontory as general foreman of telegraph construction for Central Pacific, reported Bill Sippy as the engineer on the "Jupiter," but Bow­ sher is the only source to mention Sippy, and it could have been that Sippy was on some other engine at Prom­ ontory on that day.) R. A. Murphy, fireman. Eli Dennison, conductor. (L. O. Leonard says the conductor was George E. Bond.) Howard Sigler, telegraph operator. Louie Jacobs, according to Bowsher, telegraph operator. William C. Kessell, in later years living at Milwaukie, Ore­ gon, was a brakeman, then a fireman on the Central Pacific, and witnessed the ceremonies on May 10, 1869.

GUESTS FROM NEVADA, CALIFORNIA, AND ARIZONA

J. W. Haines (or Haynes), Nevada. F. A. Tritle, Nevada. Tritle is credited in most accounts with presenting the silver spike on behalf of Nevada at the ceremony. However, the Deseret News states: "The Hon. F. A. Frythe, of Nevada, offered a silver spike to Dr. Durant." William Sherman, San Francisco. U. S. Commissioner of Inspection. Hon. Thomas Fitch, M. C, of Nevada. S. W. Sanderson, judge of California Supreme Court. Edgar Mills, of D. O. Mills and Company, Sacramento. J. F. Houghton, surveyor-general of California. E. H. Peacock, Sacramento. Dr. T. D. B. Stillman, San Frandsco. S. T. Game, Virginia City, Nevada. THE GOLDEN SPIKE 159

Mr. Phillips (and wife) of Nevada. A. P. K. Safford, governor of Arizona. L. W. Coe, president. Pacific Union Express Company. Mr. Gates, Nevada. Robert L. Harris, of the California Pacific Railroad Com­ pany.

UNION PACIFIC REPRESENTATIVES Dr. T. C. Durant, vice-president. Sidney Dillon, director. John Duff, director. Major General Grenville M. Dodge, chief engineer. General S. B. Reed, general superintendent and engineer of construction. H. M. Hoxie, assistant general superintendent. D. B. Warren, superintendent Utah Division. Colonel Hopper, superintendent, Laramie Division. J. W. Davis, tie contractor. L. H. Eicholtz, bridge engineer. General Ledlie, bridge engineer. General J. S. Casement, and brother, Daniel T. Casement, track-laying contractors. Michael Guilford, track-laying foreman. James A. Evans, division engineer of construction. Silas Seymour, consulting engineer. Marshall Hurd, assistant engineer. Thomas B. Morris, assistant engineer. James Maxwell, assistant engineer. Dyer O. Clark, coal department. John N. Stewart, telegraph lineman. Scott Davis, construction employee. Davis in later years "rode shotgun" on the Deadwood Stage Line, and subsequently was for some years livestock agent for the Union Pacific at Denver. Theodore Haswell and O. H. Henry, partners in a small grading sub-contract. Haswell afterward lived at Mill­ ville, Florida. H. W. Cossley, steward. A, J. Russell, official photographer, from New York. 160 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Sam Bradford, engineer on engine 119. Benjamin S. Mallory, conductor. Cyrus A. Sweet, fireman (on the 119?). Sweet died at the age of ninety-nine years, on May 30, 1948, at East Douglas, Massachusetts. David Lemon, fireman on engine 117. Thomas O'Donnell, laborer, Omaha. R. V. Grewell, laborer, York, Nebraska. W. A. Strange, La Cygne, Kansas. J. W. Mallory, McClouth, Kansas. Thomas Lowery, Omaha.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM SALT LAKE CITY Bishop John Sharp of the L. D. S. Church. William Jennings, vice-president of the Utah Central Rail­ road. Colonel F. H. Head, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Colonel Feramorz Little. General R. T. Burton. Hon. Charles Durkee, governor of Utah. C. R. Savage, photographer. Joseph M. Toombs.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM OGDEN AND CACHE VALLEY F. D. Richards. Lorin Farr. C. W. West. Ezra T. Benson.

TELEGRAPH W. B. Hibbard, superintendent, Western Union Telegraph Company. W. N. Shilling and W. E. Fredericks, operators from the Ogden office. Amos L. Bowsher, general foreman, telegraph construction, Central Pacific. The Chicago Tribune mentions an operator by name of P. Kearney, but this is not elsewhere verified. In the trans­ mission of the announcement of the driving of the last THE GOLDEN SPIKE 161

spike over the telegraph wires, the instrument was handled by Operator Shilling.

MILITARY General P. Edward Connor, commanding, district of Utah. The Chicago Tribune mentions General T. Thrie and a Colonel Drew "late of the U. S. Army." Many sources mention a Major Milton Cogswell (Brevet rank of Colonel) as being present, however, an examination of the records of the Adjutant General's Office (R.G. 94) in the National Archives discloses that Major Cogswell was with his regiment at the Presidio in California dur­ ing the month of May, 1869.

NEWSPAPER REPRESENTATIVES Acording to Whitney, the following news reporters were present: Frederick McCrellish, of the Alta California. T. O. Leary, Sacramento Bee. Mr. Howard, Omaha Herald. (F. E. Calvin, research man for DeMille in the filming of the story of the Union Pacific, refers to Assistant Editor Foote. Neither of these names can be verified. The issues of the Omaha Weekly Herald of May 12 and 19, 1869, make no mention of its representative or representatives by name.) B. W. Miller, New York City Press (Express?). G. F. Parson, San Francisco Times. A. D. Bell, San Francisco Bulletin. T. Clapp, Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican. Rev. John Todd, Boston Congregationalist and New York Evangelist. Dr. Adonis, San Francisco Herald. H. W. Atwell, San Francisco Chronicle. E. L. Sloan, Salt Lake City Deseret News. The San Fran­ cisco Chronicle gives J. McKnight as the representative of the News. T. B. H. Stenhouse, Salt Lake Telegraph. A person by the name of Barbardi of the Cheyenne Argus. 162 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Dr. H. W. Harkness of the Sacramento press. To this list Whitney added "and others." The Chicago Tribune was represented as well as Frank Leslie's illu­ strated newspaper and the Associated Press. Possibly one or another of the men named performed for these publishers.

GUESTS AND EXCURSIONISTS FROM THE EAST Governor John A. Campbell of Wyoming Territory. Major Bent. Edward Creighton of Omaha. Alexander Majors of the freight firm, Russell, Majors & Waddell, Nebraska City. G. C. Yates. J. G. Megeath. J. M. Ransom. C. T. Miller. Colonel Henry of Wyoming. Ex-Mayor George B. Senter of Cleveland. Henry Nottingham, president, Michigan Central and Lake Shore Railroad. Charles C. Jennings of Painesville, Ohio. R. Hall of the Firm, Hall & Casement. W. H. House of Pittsburg. Colonel Lightner. E. B. Jones and Samuel Beatty, mail agents. J. A. Green of Green & Hill. Guy Barton of the firm of Woolworth & Barton, Omaha. D. S. Chamberlain, afterward president of the Chamberlain Medical Company, Des Moines, Iowa. C. P. Fogelstrom, blacksmith in the construction crew, later lived at Junction City, Kansas.

WOMEN Sabin's work asserts that Mrs. J. H. Strobridge and Mrs. Ryan were the only women "from the outside" who were present. This seems to be erroneous. First, he refers Mrs. Ryan as the wife of the Central Pacific station agent at Ogden. The Central Pacific had no station at Ogden at the time. If a Mrs. Ryan were present, she THE GOLDEN SPIKE 163

was probably the wife of Governor Stanford's private secretary, E. B. Ryan. With Mrs. Strobridge were her two adopted children, Julia, age ten and Samuel, age seven. L. O. Leonard records from personal conversa­ tion with Mrs. Fred Bennitt of Joilet, Illinois, that she (Miss Anna Reed as a child) was present with her mother, Mrs. S. B. Reed, and her mother's sister, Miss Minerva Earll. Mrs. Phillips, of Nevada, has been mentioned as among the visitors. Miss Wealthy Ann Reynolds (later Mrs. Annie Brown) of Ogden was present. Whitney states "a number of ladies and a few children" were among the spectators. The Chicago Tribune report mentions Mrs. E. P. North, Mrs. Clapp (probably the wife of the representative of the Springfield Republican), Mrs. O. C. Smith, Miss Kellogg, and Mrs. Stanton, the wife of the master track-layer. (Mrs?) Bernetta Alphin Atkinson in an article written for the Salt Lake Tribune of May 6, 1919 said that, as a child, she was living with her parents in Promontory. Mrs. Atkinson stated in the article "there were covered wagons filled with men, women, and children; buggies, ox teams, spring wagons from the ranches, and men and women on horseback." MEN PROMINENT IN THE UNION PACIFIC AND CENTRAL PACAFIC ORGANIZATIONS NOT PRESENT AT PROMONTORY, MAY 10, 1869 C. P. Huntington, vice-president, Central Pacific, was in Washington or New York City. Charles Crocker, general superintendent of construction. Mark Hopkins, treasurer. Oliver Ames, president, Union Pacific. Oakes Ames, director. C. S. Bushnell, director. Brigham Young was not present. Whitney says he was absent in southern Utah. None of the reporters or historians mention as among the visitors the following persons depicted in Thomas Hill's painting: 164 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

A. P. Stanford, brother of Leland Stanford. He was grand marshall of the parade in San Francisco on May 8. David Hewes. If he had been at Promontory on May 10, his presence surely would have been recorded. E. H. Miller, Jr., secretary, Central Pacific. C. N. West. W. E. Brown. L. M. Clement. Charles Cadwalader. A. N. Towne. Towne was a former officer of the Burlington Railroad and had not joined the Central Pacific organ­ ization in 1869. Judge E. B. Crocker, attorney and general agent. Hon. Milton S. Latham. Hon. T. G. Phelps. Hon. A. A. Sargent.